Iraq pushes back militia disarmament deadline

A senior Iraqi official has pushed back a September 30 deadline for pro-Iran armed factions to hand over their weapons, without giving a new date or an explanation for the change.

Qasim al-Araji, the security adviser to Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, told state broadcaster Al Iraqiya on Sunday that September 30 was “the date for the international coalition to depart, not the deadline to hand over weapons”. He was referring to the US-led coalition.

Government spokesman Haidar al-Aboudi made a similar statement to local media on Friday, despite having said in June that factions had until the end of September to disarm. He said people might be confusing the date for the coalition to end its presence with a deadline for armed factions.

Iraq has faced pressure from the United States to rein in armed factions, especially those close to Iran. Since taking office in May, Zaidi has pledged to ensure that armed factions formed in the years after the US-led invasion hand over their weapons to the state.

Some factions have said in recent weeks that they would join state institutions, while others, particularly those closer to Iran, are refusing.

A government official, speaking anonymously because he was not authorised to discuss the matter, said the government was insisting on closing the weapons issue but that faction leaders wanted to keep their weapons because they believed disarming would serve Israel and the United States.

Another Iraqi source told AFP that Iran views its proxies in the region, especially in Iraq, as a source of strength it refuses to give up.